8 weeks pregnant

What happens at 8 weeks pregnant?

At 8 weeks a baby is around 1.6 cm long, from head to bottom, about the size of a Malteser. That is roughly 2 months, in the first trimester, with about 32 weeks to go until 40.

Published length

1.6 cm long, from head to bottom

In months

Roughly 2 months

Trimester

first · 32 weeks to go

What is developing at 8 weeks

Fingers and toes are forming, still webbed together. The tail-like end of the spine has almost gone, and every major organ is under construction at once — heart, lungs, kidneys and gut. Nerve cells are branching out and beginning to connect to one another.

The size comparison above is a Malteser, which measures 1.8 cm across. Every comparison on this site is a real object with a real measurement, checked against the published length. The same week is drawn in seven other sets below, from Australian animals to fast food, if this one means nothing to you.

8 weeks, in eight rulers

Every other pregnancy tool measures a baby in fruit. This one offers eight sets to choose from, and each object below carries its real measurement, checked against the 1.6 cm the NHS publishes for week 8. Pick whichever ruler you actually have a feel for. Why not fruit.

  • Sweet treats

    a Malteser

    1.8 cm across

  • Australian animals

    a bull ant

    1.6 cm head to abdomen

  • The 90s

    a Polly Pocket doll

    1.6 cm head to feet

  • Sport

    a golf tee's head

    1.8 cm across the cup

  • Things you already own

    a dice

    1.6 cm along one edge

  • Gaming

    a thumbstick cap

    1.8 cm across

  • Fast food

    a bendy straw's concertina

    1.6 cm end to end

  • Toys

    a marble

    1.6 cm across

Your dates, from 8 weeks

Set to someone who is exactly 8 weeks today, so the due date below is the one that implies. Change the date to your own and everything follows from it — nothing is saved unless you do.

How far along am I?

Measure your baby in

The lolly aisle, scaled up week by week.

Do not know your due date yet? The due date calculator estimates one from your last period. A dating ultrasound is more accurate than any calendar method — if your pregnancy care team has given you a date, use theirs.

Questions about 8 weeks

How many months is 8 weeks pregnant?
8 weeks is roughly 2 months. Months are an awkward unit in pregnancy because they do not divide evenly into weeks — a calendar month averages about 4.3 weeks, which is why 40 weeks works out a little over nine months rather than ten. Appointments and scans are always booked in weeks, so weeks are the figure worth carrying.
How big is a baby at 8 weeks?
The NHS publishes around 1.6 cm long, from head to bottom for week 8. Rather than one fruit, that length is offered here against eight rulers, each object carrying its own measurement: a Malteser (1.8 cm across), a bull ant (1.6 cm head to abdomen), a Polly Pocket doll (1.6 cm head to feet), a golf tee's head (1.8 cm across the cup), and four more. Published lengths are averages across many babies, not a measurement of any particular one, and a scan estimate that differs is a normal thing rather than a finding.
What trimester is 8 weeks?
Week 8 is in the first trimester, on the commonly published split of weeks 1–12, 13–26 and 27 onward. The boundaries are conventions for talking about pregnancy rather than biological switches — nothing changes overnight at week 13 or week 27.

Where these numbers come from

Stop doing this maths in your head

Once the counting turns into feeds, sleeps and nappies, BubSync keeps that record shared across everyone caring for your baby.

Cream and peach BubSync graphic reading “Weeks pregnant calculator,” with text about counting weeks and days from a due date, a progress bar illustration and a note that sizes are compared to everyday objects.

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